Wish I could but its a shamless cut and paste from out there on the net!
My very short impressions of the Tuba.
I picked one up out of interest about a month ago.
Iāve been trying to figure out what equipment I want in my somewhat constrained secondary listening environment. So I spent several weeks just listening to my new ZMF Eikonās on my various amplifier options out of a Bifrost2.
For point of reference I was largely comparing it to a newer Jotenheim, a ZDT Jr, a DIY Whammy and a Liquid Platinum hybrid amp.
The Tuba was my favorite amp of the collection with the Eikonās, and it is now located with those Eikonās in my secondary listening environment.
The Tuba is a relatively dry sounding Tube amp, it adds a ātubeyā depth to the mid-range that I really enjoy and exhibits very good control across the rest of the frequency range.
Tonally in direct comparison to the SS amps, I felt it leaned out some of the lower bass from the Eikons, this was more prevalent on the Hi output than the Lo output. Though Iām back to preferring the Hi output so YMMV.
The highlights for me were the presentation of the mid-range and the generally more open sound stage it presented in comparison to the other amps.
The TLDR version is itās a really good clean sounding tube amp on the dryer side, and Iād strongly recommend it.
And Jim if I could make one request, I know itās trivial, but please move to using a separate switch for on/off, I find the play in the volume knob irritating every time I touch it.
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Good stuff! I usually donāt like a ādry soundingā amp at all, but I am still interested in this.
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Focal Clears with this amp IMO is heavenā¦
Well great activity here! I was gone just for a few hours, went to the exotic wood store in Raleigh and found some Pao Rosa, almost bought some walnut and some Purple heart wood, but after discussion with the wood experts, the purpleheart wood after awhile will turn brown if expsosed to sunlightā¦my listening room has one window with blinds but I thought I would pass on the purple heart wood and went thru several others species and found this Pai Rosa with nice grain etcā¦
It took me about two hours, had to bring out the table saw and cut to 10 and 1/2" lengths mark and drill 8 holes to screw mount, spent 30 minutes with 180 grit and rounded all the edges. Then I have some magic wood paste / oil that I used to bring our the nice grainā¦you can buy this at most home supply stores. Its an easy rub on and off and it lasts several months and then you simply re-applyā¦the wood ādrinksā it up wonderfully.
Wood cost me $37.50 for a piece that I could cut 3 pieces from and have a small piece to play with ā¦I did try some tung oil gloss but too shiny for meā¦
Alex
NoteL: Those are some $$$ Mullards in the amp, the real deal!
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Dry, well lets call it really accurate!! LOL
I know what you meanā¦and totally understandā¦
We all have our preferences for sureā¦
I am looking at a pair of Aeolus but keep wondering if they will really do as well as the Clears??
Alex
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Beautiful wood paneling for your Tuba!
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Dude! That wood looks incredible! Great job there! How well does it respond to tube rolling? Do those NOS Mullards make it a bit wetter sounding, compared to the new production tubes?
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You know the entire process only took a few hours!! No blanking staining, waiting, multiple sandings etcā¦
Its an amazingly easy process and I have gone thru the multiple coats of various shellacs and dies etc. Such a real pain!
Thanks for the compliments! The secret here is to go look at the wood and pick out a board that has the grain you want to empasizeā¦I went looking for Walnut, but it just didnt speak to me. The Purple Heartwood was coming home when I saw this Pao Rosaā¦expensive but still not that costlyā¦
Honestly Wes, dry, wet etcā¦we can often pass over some really good stuffā¦and when I review something I try to tell it like I hear itā¦and yes this amp is very, very clean and accurateā¦but its characterics does change with the Mullard and some RCA NOS tubesā¦they are costlty $100 +ā¦but to me are worth it.
When you get a really good recording and crank it up, its absolutely amazing, holographic and perfect toneā¦to me this is more imporant than the euphonic sound of my Crackā¦
There are a lot of EL84ās variants that wont break the bank as wellā¦
Listening to Regina Spector and her Begin To Hope and the āEdgeā song, the BASS OMG the BASS is sp blanking good way better than the Crack etcā¦and the overall presentation is just dang goodā¦
So screw the ppt play and dwelling on wet or dryā¦its all about that outstanding presentation and experience to meā¦
Alex
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Cool! I am done with the questions, and might pick one up soon. Thanks for all the info!
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Good luck, the TUBA has a 30 day listening periodā¦
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Iām actually nor a huge fan of Aeolus with tube amps in general.
I own both the Aeolus and Eikonās, and Iād keep the Eikonās if I could only have one.
Not that the Aeolus are by any means bad.
The issue I have with them is the driver makes everything sound so smooth that you lose a lot of the edge in vocals or say guitar distortion. That to me makes the entire headphone sound very flat in comparison the the Eikonās.
As a result I prefer them on SS where I can retain as much of that āedgeā as possible.
I still occasionally listen to them on tubes and I like them more now I canāt easily swap them out for the Eikonās to hear what Iām missing, but Iāll be looking to replace them in the short term.
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Thanks for that information.
I had a pair of HD800s last week, had them for 2 days and sent them back and I got a Great dealā¦but to me even though I like my HD600ās alot. The HD800s to me were just too thin and just lacked what my brain is getting from the Clearsā¦For two days I tried to like themā¦knowing what they are and capable ofā¦but after two days the Clears went on, I smiled and the 800s went backā¦
So the search for the next headphone is still here!!
I know Darth really likes the Aeolus and I belive its taken over as a better headphone for him over the Clearsā¦hmmm
Sure wish there was a ZMF try and buy, cans like these with a 25% re-stck fee is a but steep for me.
Thanks again!
Alex
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Ha!
Thats what 80 grit is for!!
:>)
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In general, selling a pair of ZMF cans that you have in-hand is both quick and easy and comes with minimal, if any, loss.
As a buyer, there are a couple of advantages to buying these things used:
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You know, in advance, exactly what they will look like. Which is a bigger advantage with woods with more figuring, texture or grain and contrast, but still an advantage. LTD models, in particular, donāt tend to stick around very long when they do come up for sale on the used market.
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No waiting ā¦ you can have them in a couple or three days, with inexpensive shipping, vs. weeks or months.
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Thanks for the info Torq!
Appreciatedā¦
Alex
They used to make a version of this in a sandalwood scent that didnāt impart the orange hue (I believe it didnāt have any citrus oils in the formula). It was fantastic, but sadly they discontinued it.
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Thatās good stuff. I use it
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I think this may be the same formula, but different scent. Works great on lighter colored woods.
Howard WC5012 Natural Wood Cleaner and Polish, 16-Ounce, Lemongrass-Lime https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0043WG2L2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_hzcAEbQ7NTHAB